Improvement in the manufacture of paper boxes from pulp



`-N'rrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

sETH WHEELER AND EDGAR JEnoME,

OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

lIMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE 0F PAPER BOXES FROM PULP.

Specification fin-ming part of Letters Patent No.r 88,827, dated April 13, 1869.

To all lwhom 'it may concern:

Be itknown that we, SE'rH WHEELER and EDGAR JEROME, of Albany, in. the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Paper Box; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the front of a machine which is adapted for use in the operation of nishing paper boxes. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an cnlarged sectional view of one box-holder and dischargers. Fig. 4 is a view of the finished box and its cover.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several figures.

This invention consists in a new and improved article of manufacture-to wit, a box made of paper-pulp, pressed into the required shape, and coated with a coloring-matter which will give a fine finish to its surface.

Prior to the improvement which we shall hereinafter describe, boxes made of paper, with or without seams, were finished by pasting either white paper or fancy-colored paper upon their outersurfaces. This is awork attended with considerable expense and loss of time, and unless it is donc by expert hands and with considerable care the boxes present a very unsightly appearance.

The object of our invention is to improve boxes which are made without seams by compressing paper-pulp in suitable molds, as fully described in the schedules annexed to Letters Patentof the United States previously granted to us. Boxes thus made present smooth surfaces externally, owing to the manner of compressing the pulp in molds, and are therefore well adapted for receiving coloring-matter directly upon them and having their surfaces beautifully finished without the employv ment of a paper covering.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand our invention, we will describe the best means known to us for carrying it into effect.

We take any suitable coloring pigment or dye of sufcientcapacity to completely obscure the color of the box upon which it is to be applied, and mix with this color any suitable sizeor varnish which will form a paint solution, that can be applied smoothly to the surfaces of paper'boxes by means of a brush.. We then pply this coloring solution to those surfaces ofthe boxes which it is desired to finish, after which, by means of a brush, the colored or dyed surfacesare polished, and the work is done.

While the work of coloring paper boxes can be performed by hand at a great saving of time, labor, and expense over the old method of pasting paper upon them, and while we do not confine our invention to the use of machinery for applying the coloring-matter and polishing the colored surfaces, still the work can be greatly facilitated by the use of machinery suitably adapted to the purpose.

In the accompanying drawings we have represented one form of machine which might be employed to advantage -in the operations of coloring, smoothing, and polishing` the external surfaces of paper boxes.`

A is the frame of the machine; B, a wheel,

to which the box-holders b are applied, and by which the boxes are brought in contact with the coloring and finishingdeviees. This wheel B receives an intermittent motion in one direction` about its axis, as will be hereinafter shown.

The dotted line c represents a circular belt passing around pulleys d, (also shown in Fig.

l by dotted lines,) which pulleys cause their respective box-holders b to continually revolve about their axes, so that the coloring and polishingdeviccs are caused to operatethoroughly upon those surfaces of the boxes which it is desired to finish. municated to it by belt C, Iwhich passespartially around it.

D E F are, respectively, the coloring, the vcolor-distributiiig, and the polishingdeviees, consisting of brushes of cylindrical :form revolving at suit-able speeds for effecting the objects required, and d' cfare their respcctive shafts. G is a feed-roller, revolving in a vat, g, of' coloring-matter, and revolving brush l) with the requisite amount of color. Gy is the shaft of the feed-roller G. HII J K are, respectively, the belts which drive the coloring, the. distributing, andthe polishing brushes, and the fecd-roller. L is The belt c has motion comsupplying the pulley, from which motion is transmitted to the box-holdcrs b by the belt C. l is a shaft carrying pulley L, and to which motion is given by the worm and tangent wheels m m' through the medium of vertical shaft O and bevel-gearing 0 o. l is a lock for preventing at certain times the wheel B from moving. p is a lever by which wheel B is released by the action of a trip, p', on pulley L. Q is a spring operating upon the lock I? through shaft g. R are discharging devices, by which the paper boxes are removed from their holders b when the buttons v are brought in contact with cams S, causing longitudinal movements of the inner portions, B, of the box-holders. T is a dryingcase, inclosing steam-pipes t, over or through which the boxes are passed after receiving their' color. U is a central shaft, to which wheel B is secured. V is a sleeve, revolving upon shaft U, and having secured upon it the pulleys for driving the finishing devices, also the worm-wheel m and a driving-pulley, W.

The operation is as follows: The attendant, stationed in front of the machine, adjusts a box upon the cylindrical holder b, numbered 1, and moves the wheel B by disengaging the lock l) until the box is in contact with the colorbrush l). The machine is now put in motion, and the brush D receives a supplyof color from the vat g by means of the feed-roller G, which color is rapidly applied to the box as it is rotated. The wheel L having made a revolution, the trip p disen gages the wheel B from lock l, and the action of belt C causes wheel B to revolve until again stopped by lock 1, when the colored box will be in contact with the distributing-brush E, the oice of whichis to spread the coating uniformly and smoothly over the colored surface of the box.

XVhile this first box is receiving its color the attendant should place another box upon the next succeeding box-holder b, which will be receiving its color while the rst box is being operated upon by the distributing-bmah E. In this manner the operation is continually repeated by the attendant putting a box upon a holder at every stoppage of the wheel B. From the distributingbrush E the boxes are successively carried by wheel B into the drying-case T, consisting of an outer case, inclosing a series of "ertical pipes, t, which receive steam from any suitable source through a main pipe, with which all of said pipes t communicate. The colored boxes pass over these drying-pipes t, and emerge from case T suiiciently dry to be acted upon by the brush F, which polishes the colored surfaces of the boxes by its rapid revolution. After leaving the polishing-brush, each box in turn is discharged from its holder b by an outward thrust, which is given to the discharger R of each holder by the cam S acting upon the hutton 'v on the shaft s of `such discharger.

It will be seen from the above description that seamless paper boxes can be finished with great rapidity, and made to present as neat and handsome appearance as though they were carefully covered with the finest tinted paper.

The covers or tops of the boxes may be colored and finished on their edges and ends, or on their edges only.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as a new and improved article of manufacture- A seamless paper box colored or dyed and polished substantially as described.

SETH WHEELER. EDGAR JEROME.

Witnesses:

PETER MEsIcK, E. WACKERHAGEN.

...imma mnu-.MJ 

